1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of personal hygiene and grooming and more specifically relates to bathroom appliances utilized for treating the gums with a pulsating stream of liquid and to devices for sharpening razor blades for use in shaving.
2. The Prior Art
The use of a pulsating stream of a liquid, e.g. water, against the gums of the human mouth has been found to be extremely beneficial in not only cleaning the teeth and gums but also in improving the circulation of blood in the gum areas resulting in the enhancement of healthy gum tissue and teeth. Devices for providing beneficial pulsating streams of water are well known and are available in substantially all drug and department stores. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,227,158, 3,393,673, 3,405,710 and 3,425,410 illustrate the various types of gum treating apparatus in which a pulsating stream of water is used to clean and massage the gums and teeth.
It has long been known to sharpen razor blades by stropping the edge of the blade along a mildly abrasive material notably leather until the steel of the blade edge has been honed to a fine and even sharpness. Razor stropping, however, is time consuming and requires a rhythmic motion of the hands which is difficult to achieve by many people. When razor blades became readily available at reasonable prices, razor stropping became unpopular and is hardly practiced at all except by barbers in barber shops.
Subsequently, manually operated stropping devices were developed so that the private individual could easily strop a safety razor blade by placing the blade into the device and cranking a handle until the blade achieved the desired sharpness. An illustration of such manual stropping device is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,044,036 and 1,304,953. The manual stroppers, however, also consumed the user's personal time to operate and, for that reason, never achieved any substantial degree of popularity.